Shocking Situation
by CritterWhisperer
Summary: One-shot, turned chapter story. Kagome is the recipient of a new accessory that has the guys in the group wanting to keep their distance from her. A response to Katlady's August monthly challenge, Shocks.
1. Shocking Situation

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, or any of its characters._

_Author's Note: Hey all. While I am struggling with my inspiration for Frog Prince, I decided to take a shot at one of the challenges posted on Dokuga. The idea has been in the back of my head for some time, and the challenge dredged up a reason to write and post it. I didn't have this betad because it was a spur of the moment kind of thing. Although, Inkling, if you're reading this and are still game, whenever I get my next chapter done, I'll send it to you to look over.  
_

_So, here it is, my response to KatLady's monthly challenge – Shocks._

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Why her? Why was it always her? Why didn't stuff like this happen to Sango? Oh, sure, Sango got the young, handsome princes . . . and a perverted monk, but that's beside the point. What did Kagome get? The crazed, overbearing hanyous and youkai, who are overprotective, or have a habit of kidnapping her. It seemed every day another mythical being decided she was the one for him . . . it . . . whatever.

_This_ was the last straw. Now she had been cursed by one of the many enamored males she encountered.

It happened two days ago. The group had been going about business as usual, searching for Naraku and jewel shards, whichever they ran into first. The only notable difference was the fact that Sesshoumaru and his small band of followers had joined them. Sesshoumaru had offered an alliance for the sake of expediting Naraku's destruction. The fact that the daiyoukai was willing to endure Inuyasha's presence for more than ten minutes without giving in to the urge to feed him four feet of forged fang was testament enough to his loathing of Naraku.

During their search, they heard about a youkai who had been abducting young, attractive women in a nearby village. Kagome, in her infinite wisdom and tireless need to do good, convinced the group that they should help. Well, she convinced most of the group. Sesshoumaru followed along, not really committing himself to the cause. He guessed that he would get a little entertainment out of it. He was not disappointed.

When they reached the village, they found a lizard youkai – a relatively strong one, given that his appearance was mostly human. He may even have been fairly attractive, if one could look past the scaly, green skin and tail. True to Kagome's bad luck with males, as soon as the group confronted the youkai, he was immediately drawn to her.

"You are a beautiful woman. I shall make you my next mate," The youkai had stated.

Kagome, ever the type to let a guy down easy, smiled nervously and waved, "No thanks, I'm too young to get married."

She should have known then that such a tactic would not work. When did it ever work? Because she could not outright tell a guy to get lost, she had a sweet, but boring guy at home who grasped every opportunity to ask her out, and an overly-amorous wolf who claimed that she was "his woman." And while Inuyasha had no interest in mating her, he was far from willing to let any other male get a chance with her.

"Nonsense," He spoke with a heavy sibilant. "You shall be my mate and you shall wear this necklace so all will know to whom you belong."

He held up his hand, a string of beads in his grasp. A moment later, the beads began to glow and, before Kagome knew what had happened, the beads had moved through the air and formed a circle around her neck.

"Hey! What is this?" She grasped the necklace and tried to pull it over her head. It wouldn't budge and Kagome began to worry if she had just been harnessed with her own subjugation beads.

"These beads will protect what is mine from other males." The lizard youkai answered. "Now come to me, and I will take you away to my home."

"I am not anyone's anything," Kagome replied, still trying to remove the necklace. "Look, aside from your habit of kidnapping women, I'm sure you're a nice guy and all. But, you're cold-blooded, I'm warm-blooded. It would never work."

"I've had enough of this wimp," Inuyasha grumbled as he unsheathed Tetsusaiga. "You can't have Kagome. Now go away and leave this village alone, or I'm gonna have to kick your ass."

The youkai responded by leaping into an attack against Inuyasha. It was a short-lived fight. Once Inuyasha got the opportunity, he used the Windscar, ignoring Miroku's and Sango's protests. There was nothing left of the lizard after the powerful attack. Perhaps it had been a bit of overkill.

"What a waste of time," Inuyasha stated with a huff.

"I don't think you should have killed him before we had those beads removed," Miroku stated.

"Why not?"

"Because he was probably the only one who could remove them," Sango answered.

"That's just stupid. If he's dead, anyone should be able to remove them."

"They're not coming off," Kagome replied, still tugging on the necklace. This was really starting to worry her. She didn't know what these beads were supposed to do. How horrible would it be if she ended up being the slave to a single word, like Inuyasha?

"Wench, you're just not doing it right." Inuyasha stated as he walked toward her.

"How am I not doing it right? Taking off a necklace is not exactly brain surgery," Her voice dripped with sarcasm, and no small amount of panic.

"Let me see them," Inuyasha reached out to grasp the beads. Two screams were heard as both Kagome and Inuyasha felt a sharp jolt of pain, as if they had suffered an electrical shock. The force of it had thrown Inuyasha a good ten feet away.

After a couple of moments of recovery, Inuyasha sat up, a small amount of smoke rising from his head, and shouted, "Kagome, what did you do that for?"

Kagome was still standing. The shock did not seem to be as strong for her, but she had felt enough pain that she was gasping for breath as she recovered from it, "I . . . didn't do . . . anything."

"It must have been the necklace," Sango stated.

"Then we need to remove it. This could be very dangerous if it can cause Kagome such pain," Miroku stated, moving toward the young miko.

"Hey, what about me?" Inuyasha protested.

"You're a hanyou, you can handle it." Miroku stated as he reached for the enchanted necklace. Another chorus of screams ripped through the air as both the miko and monk experienced a painful jolt. Miroku beat Inuyasha's record as he hit the ground five feet beyond the hanyou's landing point.

"What the hell is going on here?" Inuyasha asked as he stared at the unconscious monk.

"I . . . don't . . . know," Kagome gasped.

Sango stepped closer to her friend, "The youkai said that those beads would protect you from other males. I think that is what they are doing." Sango reached for the beads.

"No, Sango!" Kagome blurted out, fearing for her friend's safety just as much as she was fearing another painful shock. Nothing happened. Kagome looked down to see that Sango was holding the beads, and let out a sigh of relief.

"See? It only works against males."

"Well, that's just great! Help her take the stupid beads off, already."

Sango attempted to pull the necklace over the miko's head, but they wouldn't budge. After some struggling, Sango gave up, preferring not to accidentally decapitate her friend.

"It's no good," She stated. "We'll have to think of something else."

"Gah! I am not going to be stuck with my own subjugation beads!" Kagome yelled.

"Heh, now you know how it feels," Inuyasha stated smugly.

Kagome cast a murderous glare his way, "Come here, Inuyasha, so I can give you a nice, big hug." It would hurt her, but it would do worse to him. Judging by how Inuyasha paled at the idea, he knew that fact, too.

While all of this had provided a good deal of entertainment, Sesshoumaru decided that they had wasted enough time on this problem, "Perhaps you should seek the advice of someone who may be knowledgeable in the removal of these beads."

Everyone stopped to stare at the daiyoukai. They had forgotten about him during this debacle.

"Who would know about them?" Kagome asked.

"Maybe Kaede would. They may be a youkai curse, but she might have some knowledge of them, also."

"Maybe," Kagome agreed.

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It took two days' journey to return to Kaede's village. Inuyasha, Miroku and Shippou kept a safe distance from the cursed miko as if they had started their own "Girls Stink" club. Shippou had not attempted to come in contact with Kagome, just in case the cursed beads had an effect on all males, despite their age. If it weren't for the fact that she had Sango, Rin, and Kirara for support, Kagome would have felt very much alone and miserable.

When they reached the village, Kaede's assessment was less than encouraging. What little she had heard of such curses suggested that they affected only those who felt any sort of lust, be it conscious or unconscious, toward the one wearing the cursed beads. This bit of news was not received well by a certain demon slayer, who immediately began showing a certain monk exactly how much pain she could inflict on him before he passed out.

While Miroku made a hasty retreat, claiming that Sango was the only woman he truly loved, Kagome thought over this explanation. She supposed it could be true. Miroku lusted after every woman he met, and her likeness to Kikyou could explain why the beads affected Inuyasha. That was, unless he really did have such thoughts about her. She hoped not. She loved Inuyasha, but she had no such desires for him anymore. There was also that brief moment when Jaken had stumbled during their journey and bumped into Kagome's leg. No shock had resulted from this contact, so that must mean the kappa did not find her attractive. Kagome mentally sighed in relief. Thank the kami for small favors.

"But why do the beads hurt me?" She asked.

Kaede shrugged, "That I could not say. Perhaps it was intended as a punishment for when you allowed another male to come in contact with you."

Kaede had continued on with her explanation. She had heard that it was possible for the beads to be removed, if the wearer found his or her true love. That was just perfect. Yep, she just had to sit back and wait for Prince Charming to come riding along and . . .

"We don't have time to wait around for Kagome's true love." Inuyasha grumbled, deciding that he needed to give another try at removing the beads.

He reached for her arm. Upon contact, he was thrown against the wall of the hut. Kagome, recovering from the shock first, ran out of Kaede's hut, trying to avoid Inuyasha's touch. Inuyasha staggered out of the hut, dazed from the impact his head had made with the wall. Shaking his head to clear it of the fuzziness, he focused on Kagome and made another grab for her.

"Come on, Kagome. Do you really think we are going to wait around for you to get over this curse? What if you true love is that mangy wolf? I'd never hear the end of his 'my woman' crap if that happened."

Kagome managed to dodge him, but stupidly swatted at his hand, causing another jolt for both of them. "You idiot! They are going to come off by force."

She was about to try to dodge another lunge, when she realized that she was being pretty stupid, herself. "Sit!" She shouted, and repeated the command at least another dozen times.

When it was clear that Inuyasha was down for the count, she approached the hole that Inuyasha's body had dug into the ground, "If you want to put yourself through a lot of pain, you can leave me out of it." She turned and walked into the woods, heading for the Bone Eaters Well.

Sesshoumaru sat in a tree outside the old miko's hut. He had heard the whole explanation and watched the ensuing events. He should have joined this group a long time ago, just for the entertainment value.

It had been Sesshoumaru's doing that Jaken had collided with the miko during the trip to the village. A well-placed, "accidental" kick had managed to get the kappa in contact with her. It was a little experiment he had tried to determine if all males were affected by the cursed necklace. Jaken made such a useful test subject and he had been hoping for amusing results. But nothing happened. With the new-found knowledge of the necklace, he decided that Jaken had received no shock because he was not interested in the miko.

Either the kappa was interested in other types of females, or the experiment had confirmed a suspicion that he had always had about Jaken. Sesshoumaru repressed a shudder of revulsion as he thought of exactly _who _was the object of Jaken's desire. Best not to think about that at all.

He watched Kagome walk away, no doubt to try to collect her thoughts and figure out what to do. This would be the perfect time for another experiment.

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Kagome stood next to the Bone Eaters Well, thinking about how much her life sucked. Why hadn't this happened to Sango. She was pretty. She wore that form-fitting slayer uniform that left little to the imagination. She had been standing next to Kagome, but the lizard had taken no notice of her. Not that she would have wished this same fate on her friend, but it did make her wonder. What about the slayer made males look at her and decide not to pull this kind of crap with her?

Maybe it was Hiraikotsu. The over-sized boomerang could make anyone want to watch their step around a person who knew how to wield it. Although, it didn't deter Miroku at all. Surely, it couldn't scare off a powerful demon, either. Maybe males in this era weren't in to the dominatrix look. No, they preferred the innocent, school girl look. Never mind that she had been carrying a bow and a quiver of arrows. Did getting an eye-full of bare, shapely legs make the men of this era turn into lust-crazed idiots?

With a groan, Kagome propped her elbows on the edge of the well and buried her face in her hands. Why did she insist on wearing this stupid uniform, anyways? It wasn't the most practical garment for traipsing across the countryside and fighting demons. It hardly provided her any protection from the elements or in battle. If she had been smart about it, she would have dressed in the bulkiest, most unflattering clothing she could think of. Something like the way Jaken dressed. Yes, and she could paint her face green and put fake warts on her nose. With her luck, she would probably find the one male out there who would find that attractive, too.

Enough feeling sorry for herself. The situation could be worse. This could turn out to be something useful. Like Miroku's wind tunnel, it could be used as a weapon. Except she won't get sucked into a void because of her curse. Instead, she'll suffer a shock every time a lustful male touches her and will probably die a virgin. That is, unless the highly improbable happens and she meets her one true love. How would she even go about trying to find him?

The sudden image of her running around villages, propositioning men flashed through her mind. She giggled as she tested out her own version of Miroku's line, "Excuse me, Sir, would you do me the honor of letting me bear your children? I guess not, judging by how you just flew twenty feet away." Her giggles took on a more hysterical note before she buried her face in her hands again in renewed misery.

"Nope, my life just sucks." She mumbled.

"Do you make a habit of talking to yourself, Miko?"

Kagome lifted her head and turned to look at Sesshoumaru, "Why not? I'm doomed to be all alone. I might as well try to make conversation with myself."

Sesshoumaru said nothing in response. Kagome stared at him, waiting for him to explain why he was there. She had always had a healthy respect for him. A respect born mostly out of the fact that he could easily slice her into pieces at any give moment. But she had also noticed that he had a softer side. While he was not big on showing that he cared about others, the few things that he did do spoke volumes. Like when he resurrected Rin. During the time that he had been traveling with their group, Kagome had even begun to feel some attraction to him. . . wait a minute.

"Sesshoumaru, do you think this necklace could be removed if I were dead?" She hoped she found another loophole.

The daiyoukai lifted an eyebrow at the unexpected question, "Perhaps, but being dead will be a hindrance to you enjoying your freedom from this curse."

"Yeah, but couldn't you resurrect me?" Her hope began to waver during the following silence. She guessed it was too much to hope that he might be able to find enough compassion to bring her back from the dead. He probably didn't even like her that much; and there were a number of good reasons for that.

She was brought out of her thoughts as he began to walk toward her, "It is an interesting theory. Plausible, yes." He stated thoughtfully.

He stopped within a foot of her and lifted his hand. "But I can resurrect a life only once. If you fall in battle, I cannot save you again. And there is no guarantee that this would end the curse."

He began to reach forward and Kagome closed her eyes, thinking he was about to strike her down. When nothing happened, she cracked open one eye, then the other, wondering what was happening. Surely he would enjoy getting the chance to kill her, just this once. When she looked at him, he still had his hand outstretched, a somewhat satisfied expression on his face. The fact that he showed any expression at all was enough to shock her, but when she looked down to see that a portion of the necklace was draped over two long, clawed digits, she panicked, expecting another dreadful jolt of pain. Then the logical part of her brain managed to kick in, telling her that if there would be any pain, it would have already happened, and that this was Sesshoumaru. Right. He didn't have a lustful thought in his whole body, much less have any involving her.

"You could have warned me you were going to do that. What are you doing anyways?"

"Performing a little experiment."

"Did it work? Do you think you know how to remove the beads without killing me?"

"I believe so, but I don't think I will remove them. At least, not until I have a new set created that will not cause you harm. I rather enjoy watching the effect they have on Inuyasha."

He gave her a devilish smirk before releasing the beads and moving his hand the the back of her head. His other arm snaked around her waist to bring her flush against his body as he dipped his head to capture her lips in a heated kiss. A jolt went through Kagome's body, but this was one of pleasure that stirred other urges to life. After a moment, Sesshoumaru broke the kiss and regarded Kagome's dazed expression.

"Now, about those pups you are willing to bear."


	2. The Changing of the Protectors

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters.

**Author's Note: **I had intended this to be a one-shot, but reviewers' requests for a follow-up (and little ideas popping into my head) required me to add another chapter. There may be one or two more yet to come, but I am not making any promises. it all depends on how much I can flesh out the ideas that I already have. Although the material in this chapter is T-rated, in my opinion, I have bumped it up to M, just to be on the safe side.

Thank you all for your reviews that fueled my inspiration to write another chapter. I hope you enjoy it.

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It took Kagome several minutes to process what was happening. She used all of the brain power she had at her disposal to connect the dots . . . Sesshoumaru could touch her, he kissed her, and mentioned something about pups. It should have been something fairly easy to understand. Yet, the majority of her brain did not want to admit the obvious answer, for fear that it were not true – it couldn't be true.

The rest of her brain was too preoccupied with a gorgeous daiyoukai kissing and nipping a trail down her neck to care about anything else. At length, she did manage to form a coherent thought and get a small sentence past her lips.

"Wait, Sesshoumaru, you're my true love?" She had to have a verbal confirmation of this, as if that were all that was needed to make it real.

Sesshoumaru pulled back to regard her with an amused look, "I should think that were obvious." He moved to claim her lips in another kiss, but Kagome pulled away a little.

Now that some amount of clarity was returning, she was beginning to view this moment as surreal. There were so many strange things about this situation, the least of which was that she had no reason to believe that a plain human would attract someone like Sesshoumaru when there were so many beautiful female youkai in the world. Maybe it was the fact that he was taking this destined love thing with a bit too much grace. Shouldn't he be railing against the idea that he would be tied to a human in such a way?

"But you hardly know me . . . you tried to kill me, once!" Or maybe spraying a woman with poison was Sesshoumaru's version of a love tap. Where some boys, when they liked a girl, pulled the girl's hair, Sesshoumaru tried to melt her into a puddle of goo. No wonder he was still single.

"I recall you shooting arrows at me, once." The love tap returned.

"I was trying to help Inuyasha," she defended.

"And for that, I don't hold it against you," he leaned in again for a kiss, and repressed an irritated sigh when Kagome pulled back again.

"This is some kind of joke. I don't know how you're doing this. Probably the beads aren't working against you because you aren't feeling any lust."

Sesshoumaru's answer to this was to pull her body against his and claim her mouth in another kiss. He forced her mouth open enough to slide his tongue past her lips. Once she got over the surprise, she began to respond. Even if this were a joke, she could enjoy it while it lasts. When he broke the kiss, Kagome realized that in the few moments she had been distracted, Sesshoumaru had picked her up and set her on the rim of the well. Her legs were wrapped around his waist, and it felt like the hilt of one of his swords was digging into her lower abdomen . . . or that is what she thought it was before she realized that he was not wearing his armor, or his swords. When had he removed it?

"Do you still think I am pretending?" He ground his hips against hers, resulting in a short gasp. That was definitely not a sword hilt.

"N-no," Kagome moaned, lost in the pleasurable sensation of his body moving against hers. Whatever his methods for getting a girl's attention, he had gained some experience and remarkable talents along the way. Maybe he only tried to melt the girls that he _really _liked.

She felt his hand slide under her shirt, running up her side. The new sensation snapped her back to the reality of the situation and she tensed, "But you hardly know me and you are so easily convinced that you and I are meant to be together?"

"I have admired you for some time. This merely gives me the opportunity to make my intentions clear."

"And what are those?" Kagome asked breathlessly as Sesshoumaru began to kiss her neck again.

He brought his mouth to her ear, "To make you my mate."

"But I can't get mated now. . . we have to defeat Naraku!"

Sesshoumaru pulled away to give her some space. The mention of Naraku was a bit of a mood killer.

"Do you not wish to be my mate? Am I not attractive to you?"

"Of course you're attractive. And to be your mate . . . wow . . . but the timing is bad."

So she was not rejecting him, just the circumstances. That was fine. He had only planned to make his intentions known. There would be plenty of time, later, for everything else. Meanwhile, they would be able to spend more time together and learn more about each other, as that seemed to be a concern of hers.

He leaned in to give her a small, chaste kiss, "There is no rush. Perhaps would should go back to the village."

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Meanwhile in the village, Sango had worn herself out in her attempts to beat some sense into Miroku and was sitting on the ground, glaring at the unconscious monk. Said monk appeared to have several lumps on his head and one eye was looking puffy and growing darker. The slayer was a force to be reckoned with when angry and she was in the process of plotting a more permanent means of punishment for the pervert.

Shippou and Rin were running around the clearing near Kaede's hut. They had watched a good deal of the monk's beating and had made a game out of reenacting it. Rin was in the act of chasing Shippou with a large stick, shaped roughly like Hiraikotsu, while Shippou exclaimed, "My dear Sango, I swear you are the only woman for me!"

Inuyasha had recovered from Kagome's fury, and was in the process of removing a great deal of dirt from his hair while brooding over how to handle this situation. Kagome's curse could prove to be a major difficulty in the future. Travel arrangements would have to change, that was for sure. Kagome riding on his back was _definitely_ out of the question, now. Not to mention when they go into battle. Usually, Inuyasha was the one to push Kagome out of harm's way. As if he didn't get enough of a beating during battles, now he would get shocked and thrown into the ground . . . or a tree . . . or any other conveniently-placed hard surface . . . and hope that the bad guys would take a breather to let him recover from protecting the miko.

Why did he get shocked, anyways? Sure, he may have the occasional dirty thought about her. Especially when she was riding on his back . . . his hands on her thighs . . . her breasts pressed against his back . . . her breath tickling the skin on his neck. Whose great idea was that mode of transportation, anyways? Oh yeah, his. Moving on. It wasn't like he was always thinking these dirty thoughts. He _definitely_ didn't want to act on them. While he and Kagome worked great as friends, he knew that being lovers, or husband and wife, would never work. They would fight even more than they do now.

The fact that the beads rejected him was proof enough that they were not meant to be together in that fashion. On the other hand, he couldn't help but worry over the thought of who Kagome's true love may be. He _really_ hoped it wasn't Kouga. The wolf was a big enough. There would be no living with him if he found out he had always been right about the "my woman" claims.

That was another concern. If Kagome did succeed in finding this mystery male, would she leave the group? Would the male allow her to remain with them and allow her to finish this fight with Naraku? Afterwards, would she be able to stay near her friends? Kagome was his closest friend and he was not happy with the idea that she would be taken away from him. That would be the reason why he was so protective of her when it came to other males.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he saw Kagome and Sesshoumaru walking toward the hut. Kagome was clinging to Sesshoumaru's arm in nervous anticipation of the upcoming confrontation. While Inuyasha had no claim on her, nor did he even have an interest in her beyond friendship, she couldn't help but be worried about his reaction when he learned that she and his brother were destined to be together.

Inuyasha, registering only the fact that Kagome was touching a male without suffering the consequences, leaped to his feet and ran toward her as Kagome released Sesshoumaru's arm and took a couple of steps forward. Sesshoumaru allowed her to step away in this moment of confrontation because he knew that she was already well-protected. This was going to be amusing.

"Now, Inuyasha, before you get upset. . ."

Inuyasha ignored her words, "Kagome, how did you break the curse?" As he got closer, he reached out to touch her arm.

"I wouldn't do that, Little Brother."

Sesshoumaru's soft-spoken warning went unheeded and, once again, Inuyasha found himself flying through the air as the result of a painful shock ripped through his body. He lay in the furrow that he had created when his body slid across the ground, trying to figure out what went wrong.

"Ow, you idiot! Why did you do that?"

After a moment, he sat up, his mind still free of answers. "What the hell just happened?"

"What do you think happened?"

"I thought you were free of the curse!"

Kagome pointed to the beads around her neck, "Does it _look_ like they are gone?"

"Then why are you able to touch Sesshoumaru?" Inuyasha paused, looking back and forth between Kagome and Sesshoumaru. The daiyoukai approached Kagome and placed a possessive arm around her waist, preparing to shield her, if necessary. An imaginary light switch flipped on in his head as if Logic had just walked in and said, "Honey, I'm home."

A wash of emotions ran through him. This was impossible. His hated half-brother, who hated humans, and Kagome? Where did this come from? They hardly knew each other. They had fought against each other. And did he mention that Sesshoumaru hated humans? As Inuyasha struggled to understand what was happening, Logic just shrugged his shoulders and said, "You got me. I just helped you put two and two together. You're on your own, now."

Well, so much for thinking logically. He knew there was a reason he didn't use his brain often.

This was a situation that called for the tried and true method of shouting obscenities, waving Tetsusaiga about, and threatening to slice his enemies into tiny bits. While this did not always have the best results, especially when they involved Sesshoumaru, it made him feel like he was doing _something _to deal with a problem. Even so, he just wasn't feeling it at the moment.

After what seemed an eternity, he let out a sigh and grumbled, "Well, crap."

Kagome was stunned by the passive response, "You're not . . . angry?"

"Feh, I'm angry, but so far today, I've been shocked twice, thrown into a wall, and slammed into the ground twice. I'll sit this one out, if you don't mind." As if to illustrate his point, Inuyasha plopped on the ground and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Wow, this really isn't what I expected."

"Yes, Inuyasha, I was hoping for more of a fight from you."

Inuyasha snorted in response. There was no point in fighting it. He didn't like the bastard . . . probably never would. But, Inuyasha reasoned, Sesshoumaru must have actual feelings for the miko. The daiyoukai may be a lot of things, but Destiny's bitch was not one of them. He determined his own fate, and likely wouldn't care what some enchanted necklace had to say about his love life. As long as Kagome was happy, he could live with the situation.

Besides, Sesshoumaru was going to have his hands full with Kagome and her volatile temper. Not to mention all of the other males that would be stupid enough to try to steal her from the daiyoukai. Suddenly, Inuyasha's mood was brightening. The job of Kagome's protector now belonged to Sesshoumaru, and Inuyasha would get to sit back and watch the fun.

"I just hope I'm there to see it when Kouga finds out." He remarked with a smirk.

Kagome groaned at the mention of the wolf. She hadn't thought about what that confrontation would be like. Poor Kouga. He'd be skinned alive. That is, if Sesshoumaru left anything to be skinned. He would most likely melt Kouga with his poison and be done with it.

Either that, or Sesshoumaru would let the cursed necklace do its work. That thought struck a chord in Kagome's mind. She turned to Sesshoumaru, "Why did you let Inuyasha touch me if you knew it would cause me pain, too?"

Sesshoumaru regarded the enraged look in his future mate's face. This could be bad. That was the kind of look that preceded Inuyasha doing a face plant in the dirt. It was a good thing he didn't have a subjugation necklace, "It didn't cause you as much pain."

"But it still caused me pain!" She began tugging at the beads, "Take this stupid thing off, already. What kind of a mate will you be if you keep me shackled like this?"

"A protective mate. I already said that I intend to have a necklace commissioned that will not have adverse effects on you."

"I don't need anything of the sort."

"I would argue otherwise. If it weren't for males pursuing you, you wouldn't be in this situation now."

"You know, he's got a point." Inuyasha interjected his unwanted opinion.

"Shut up!"

Sesshoumaru ignored Kagome's frustration, "I will take my leave now. I shall return when I have retrieved the item we have discussed." He turned and began to walk away.

"Wait, take this stupid thing off, first."

"I believe it is better for you to continue wearing it until I have returned. It will be good protection." He spoke over his shoulder.

Kagome let out a growl of frustration and ran into Kaede's hut, speeding past Sango, Rin, and Shippou, who had been watching the whole scene in stunned silence. In unison, their heads turned to follow Kagome's movements as she ran out of Kaede's hut, carrying her bow and an arrow, fury shining bright in her eyes.

She and Sesshoumaru may be destined for each other, but she was not going to be some complacent, little twit of a mate. If Sesshoumaru thought that was going to be the case, he had another thought coming. She stopped in her tracks and lifted the bow, arrow notched in place, to take aim at Sesshoumaru's perfect ass. She would teach him to treat her like a piece of property, incapable of taking care of herself. She released the arrow, a streak of pink light shooting through the air, heading straight for its mark.

At the last moment, Sesshoumaru spun around, caught the arrow and held it up, shaking his head at Kagome's attempt at defiance. He paid little notice to Inuyasha's outburst of laughter at the display.

"I'll address this act of disobedience when I return."

"If this is how you are going to act, I'll never mate you!" She shouted, irritated that her attack didn't work. Her purification powers might not have had a strong effect on him, but she would have felt some vindication if he had felt some pain.

Sesshoumaru smirked. Before Kagome knew what had happened, he was in front of her, wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her body flush against his. "Don't be so foolish to think that you can resist me."

He claimed her mouth in another mind-numbing kiss, much to the surprise of the onlookers. If Inuyasha had not been lost in a fit of laughter, he might have been gagging in disgust at the sight.

It was also at this moment that Jaken returned to the hut after gathering firewood from the surrounding forest, a task he had been more than willing to carry out because Lord Sesshoumaru had ordered it. Upon seeing the daiyoukai kissing the miko, Jaken dropped his burden and stood with his mouth opening and closing, but no sound came out.

After he saw Sesshoumaru part from the miko, promising to return in one day, Jaken finally found his voice, and his high-pitched voice was heard throughout the village.

"Lord Sesshoumaru, no!"


	3. Going Home

**Author's Note:** Thank you all so much for the wonderful support I have gotten for this little fic. Knowing that so many of you want me to continue it has made me feel guilty for taking so long to update. But here it is. Hopefully it stands up to the previous chapters.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha, or any of its characters.

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Kagome stared at the line of trees beyond which Sesshoumaru had just disappeared. A bit dazed from the daiyoukai's "good-bye" kiss, her anger had been somewhat abated. That was until her ears registered Inuyasha's laughing. She looked over to the hysterical hanyou, whose eyes were now streaming with tears of mirth. Then she took in the rest of her surroundings.

Jaken lay sprawled on his back, dead to the world. Kagome wondered briefly what had happened to him as she scanned the rest of the area. Her gaze landed on Sango, Shippou, Rin, and Miroku. The monk's body twitched a little as if he were beginning to come around from his hiraikotsu-induced nap. The other three were staring at her with mixed expressions. While Rin had a goofy smile on her face, Sango and Shippou showed only surprise. Her face colored in embarrassment as she realized everything that her friends had witnessed.

That arrogant jerk had kissed her in front of her friends! A little part of her mind tried to point out that it was a good thing that Sesshoumaru had been so open about their relationship, rather than trying to hide the fact that he were destined to mate a human. At least Miroku had been unconscious and could make no perverted comments about it. But it was still embarrassing that he kissed her like that in front of everyone. A little peck on the lips or cheek would have been fine, but a mind-blowing kiss that let everyone know just how easily Sesshoumaru might be able to bend her to his will . . . forget embarrassment. Hello, rage.

Inuyasha's laughter wasn't helping her anger, either. Honestly, it wasn't _that _funny. She was tempted to "sit" him, but it wouldn't have the same effect. He was already rolling on the ground. The most the spell would do is pin the hanyou in one spot. That wasn't quite as satisfying as watching him plummet to the ground . . . the combined forces of gravity and the subjugation beads pulling him to the solid, unforgiving earth in a much-deserved body slam.

She balled her hands into fists and realized that she was still holding her bow. Looking at her hand, she found she was also holding the arrow she had used in her attempt to shoot Sesshoumaru. He must have slipped it into her hand before his little good-bye . . . and she was too caught up in the moment to even notice. Damn him and that talented tongue.

Having had enough of Inuyasha's laughter, Kagome stalked toward the oblivious hanyou, intending to stab him with the arrow. She wasn't going to stab him hard enough to cause injury or draw blood . . . just enough to cause a little pain and sober him up. Plus, she would feel slightly vindicated for his laughter at her expense.

Just as she was about to aim the arrow tip at the bare foot closest to her, Kagome paused. Would the necklace still have an effect, even through the indirect contact of an arrow shaft? Probably. Damn it. Today was just not her day for seeking vengeance. Deciding not to risk it, although Inuyasha would deserve another good shock, Kagome gave a frustrated growl and threw the arrow at him. It bounced off his leg ineffectually and the hanyou continued on in his own merry, little world. Grumbling to herself about arrogant daiyoukai and stupid, hormonal males in general, Kagome stormed into Kaede's hut.

Miroku was just coming around as Kagome marched past her gawking companions. Still a little woozy from his beating, Miroku regarded the door through which Kagome had just passed. What had gotten her so worked up? He looked around, observing everyone in the area.

"Did I . . . miss something?" He asked, after some effort to get his brain and mouth to cooperate with each other.

"Kagome found her one, true love." Sango replied, staring blankly at the trees.

"Oh, that's nice." Miroku nodded, his head wobbling a little from the action. A pensive look crossed his face. "Was she . . . looking for her true love?"

Shippou looked at the befuddled monk. "I guess you missed out on that part of Kaede's explanation . . . what with running for your life and all. Only Kagome's true love is able to remove that necklace."

"I see." Miroku tried to effect his wise, scholarly monk demeanor. As if the answer were so obvious and he could have told everyone the solution, had he not been distracted by a giant-boomerang-wielding woman. He failed miserably in his attempt. "So, who is her true love?"

Sniffling a little and wiping tears from his eyes, Inuyasha staggered toward his companions. "Hehe it. . . it's Sesshoumaru."

"What's Sesshoumaru?"

"Sesshoumaru," Inuyasha chuckled again, "is her one, true love."

Miroku stared at the giggling hanyou, then shook his head as if trying to clear out the cobwebs between his ears. "I think I have taken too many hits to the head. I could have sworn Inuyasha just said . . ."

"You heard right." Sango interrupted.

"Oh, okay." Miroku nodded again. After another pensive pause, he asked, "Does Sesshoumaru know about this?"

At this question, Inuyasha erupted into another bout of laughter, followed by Shippou and Rin. Sango finally tore her gaze away from the trees to look at her favorite punching bag. "Maybe I did hit you in the head too many times. Of course he knows."

"And he's okay with this?"

Sango studied the monk's face for a moment. He was being a little slow and it had her concerned. She held up three fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Miroku stared determinedly at the slayer's hand for a few moments. He scowled, "Well, I'd be able to count them if you'd stop moving so much."

Rin giggled at the monk before answering his question. "Lord Sesshoumaru is very happy about this. He has always liked Lady Kagome."

Well, if anyone had that special intuition for reading the unreadable daiyoukai, it was his young ward. The girl must be a telepath to be able to understand him so well.

Miroku smiled at the young girl. "If you say so. Does this mean that Kagome's curse is lifted?"

"No!" Kagome shouted as she burst out of Kaede's hut. "That arrogant jerk wants me to keep wearing this," she tugged at the beads, "until he can get a new _collar_ for me!"

Not even Sango could stop herself from laughing at her enraged friend. Kagome glared at her so-called friends. All of them laughing at her expense when the situation was anything but funny. Oh good. Inuyasha was standing up now.

"Sit!" The command was punctuated with a loud thud. What a pity Inuyasha hadn't been in a tree or standing at the edge of a cliff.

"What was that for?" Inuyasha, sobered from his impact with the ground, mumbled into the dirt.

"You know what it was for!" She shouted. "I've had enough of this. I'm going home!"

Adjusting the pack she had already slung over her shoulder, Kagome began a determined march toward the Bone Eater's Well.

"Wait!" Inuyasha shouted, trying to pull himself from the ground. His subjugation beads held him fast. "Sango, Miroku, stop her!"

Miroku stood on shaky legs and ran to catch up to the miko. "Kagome, wait!" He was about to reach out a hand to catch her elbow, but stopped at the last minute, remembering the consequences of such an action. Sango noticed his hesitancy to touch the miko, and stored the little fact away to contemplate its worth at a later time.

"Yes, Kagome. Wait. You should not leave right now."

"Why not?" The miko challenged

"Because if His Royal Pain in the Ass returns before you do, he'll throw a fit and have _my_ ass for breakfast." Inuyasha answered, freeing himself from the ground.

"Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm not being ridiculous. Inuyoukai are very possessive of their . . . mates." Oh, he wasn't sure if he would ever get used to the idea of Kagome and Sesshoumaru, the poster boy for confirmed bachelorhood, being mated. The images it created in his mind made him want to cringe in disgust.

"That's true." Sango agreed. "And he doesn't know about the well. If he came back and there was absolutely no trace of you . . ."

"He'll just have to get over it." Kagome declared. "I'm a modern woman who will not follow orders just because my future mate gives them."

"Kagome, perhaps you should sit down for a while and think about this. You're a futuristic woman to us. Sesshoumaru is only acting out of instinct to protect you." Stated Miroku, ever the mediator and voice of wisdom . . . when he wasn't being a pervert.

"I'll have plenty of time to sit down and think at home!" She let out an exasperated breath and tried to regain control of her temper. "Besides I need to pick up more supplies . . . and more ramen, Inuyasha."

She smirked when Inuyasha's ears perked up at the mention of ramen, and could practically see the gears in his mind turning as he weighed the pros and cons of letting her leave. Not that he could stop her anyways. He couldn't touch her and she could "sit" him. Unless Sango was willing to step in and get forceful, there was no stopping her . . . and he knew that.

"Can't you wait until the asshole gets back?" He ventured, not expecting a positive answer.

"No. I'm leaving now."

"Fine! You just better be back before Sesshoumaru returns . . . and get a _lot _of ramen! I'm not going to get killed for nothing._"_

"You're not going to get killed. And if you do, Sesshoumaru can always bring you back." She threw over her shoulder as she resumed walking.

"Fat chance of that happening! He'd bring me back just to kill me again." Inuyasha shouted after her.

Shippou started to laugh at the hanyou's distress. "Inuyasha's scared of Sesshoumaru." He sang.

"Shut it, Runt, or I'll feed you to Ah-Un."

"Ah-Un wouldn't eat Shippou!" Rin objected.

"Yeah, and you'd have to catch me, first." Shippou stuck his tongue out at Inuyasha.

The hanyou made a grab for him, but the kitsune was too fast. He flicked one of Inuyasha's ears as he jumped over his head and made a beeline for the woods. Inuyasha chased after him, his trepidation over Sesshoumaru and Kagome forgotten in favor of skinning a little fox.

Miroku, Sango, and Rin stared in the direction the hanyou had gone. Then they looked in the direction Kagome had traveled. They stood in silence, expecting something else to happen.

When everything remained quiet and it seemed that the day had had its fill of weirdness, Miroku cleared his throat, "Sooo . . . is it time for dinner, yet?"

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Jaken awakened to the sound of voices and wondered why he was lying on the ground. Had he said or done something to anger his lord and been punished . . . again? It was always difficult to know what should or should not be said around Lord Sesshoumaru. His means of correcting poor behavior was to kick, step on, or throw rocks at the offender, without providing an explanation of what had sparked his ire. In the beginning, Jaken had always assumed it was because Lord Sesshoumaru felt that he did not need to explain his actions. It was up to all of the fools surrounding him to learn how to understand said actions. Lately, Jaken had begun to think that the daiyoukai just enjoyed causing him pain. But Jaken was not feeling sore, as he usually did after his lord trod on him. He didn't have any new lumps on his head, either – Lord Sesshoumaru's choice target.

Then he overheard the conversation between the idiot hanyou and his companions. A sense of horror began to build as he realized the terrible fate of his great and powerful Lord Sesshoumaru. He was to be mated to a human! A miko, at that! Oh, how could the kami be so cruel? As he mentally lamented his master's fate, the image of Lord Sesshoumaru kissing the miko flashed through his mind.

That's what had happened! After witnessing the intimate moment between his beloved Lord Sesshoumaru and the miko, he had been so overcome with shock and grief that there was little else he could do except surrender to the serene bliss that is unconsciousness.

Just thinking about it had him on the verge of passing out again, but he fought to remain conscious. What good would it do him when he had to figure out what was happening?

Had his lord lost his mind? What was he thinking? He intended to mate that loud, obnoxious girl? Why? Something had to be wrong with him. The kappa thought back over the many years that he had served Lord Sesshoumaru. The daiyoukai had always been aloof and cold to everyone. He thought nothing of killing anyone who got in his way. He hardly even glanced at females of any kind . . . a fact that might have given the kappa hope, except Sesshoumaru never paid any attention to males either.

If he could pinpoint it, Jaken would suppose that Lord Sesshoumaru had begun to act odd ever since the day he lost his arm. A traumatizing event for anyone, even if the daiyoukai showed nothing but anger over it. Jaken could understand if he acted a little off after that, but many of his actions had been outright strange and out of character. The first of which had been the addition of Rin to their little group.

Maybe the attachment to the little girl was the first sign of his downfall. From that point on he had begun to act as if he actually cared about others. Now whatever mental illness that was affecting him was leading him to take a human woman as a mate.

He heard the miko screeching and complaining about his master's methods of protecting her. Complaining! Did she not realize the great honor she was receiving that his lord would even look her way, much less care enough about her to want to keep her alive and well? Clearly she would be an ungrateful mate that would cause his master nothing but pain and frustration. Something had to be done about this and Lord Sesshoumaru was in no condition to deal with the matter. Jaken would just have to take it upon himself to save Lord Sesshoumaru from himself. He knew exactly what had to be done . . . the miko had to die.

He tuned out the others' voices as he tried to work out the best plan. He would have to work fast. There would be no opportunity for him to attack her when Lord Sesshoumaru was around, so he would have to kill her before the daiyoukai returned. With luck, he would be able to blame her death on someone else. Naraku would be an easy target. Likely, Sesshoumaru would also blame Inuyasha for not protecting his intended mate and kill the hanyou for his failure. A win-win situation . . . or was it a win-win-win?

Yes, Lord Sesshoumaru would be upset when he first learns of her death, but he would get over it soon enough. Jaken would, most likely, receive an increased number of kicks, but in the end, all would return to normal. Lord Sesshoumaru would be thankful for not being tied down at all and would go on to carve his name into the annals of history . . . with Jaken by his side the whole time. It would be wonderful.

He was brought out of his scheming when he noticed a sudden lull in the nearby conversation. The kappa looked toward the group, noticing that the miko and hanyou seemed to be in a face off. Inuyasha looked as if he were trying to make a difficult decision before finally asking the miko to delay her plans until Sesshoumaru's return. What was she planning to do? Just as he was about to start reprimanding himself for not paying attention, he saw Kagome begin walking into the woods . . . alone.

If he was going to do something, now was the time. He'd come up with explanations after the miko was gone. The others were too busy watching the hanyou and kitsune to notice when he got to his feet and rushed after the young woman. Even Kagome paid no attention to him as she wandered through the forest. He preferred to believe that this was because of his superior skills in stealth as he followed her, waiting for an opportunity to present itself.

When he saw her stop at an ancient well in the middle of a clearing, he hid behind a low shrub located as close to the well as he could get without her noticing him, and waited for her next move. She seemed to study the well for a long time, making Jaken wonder why she found it so fascinating. It was just a dry well. Then Kagome stepped up to the well, set her pack on the aged wood, and levered herself up to sit on the well's rim. His eyes bugged out of his head, more than they naturally did, in joy. This was perfect! He could scare her from her perch, and send her falling into the well's depths. With luck, she would break her neck and it would look like an accident. Explaining why she was sitting on the well's edge in the first place may not even be that difficult a task. She was a strange woman who had a habit of doing odd things.

As the miko leaned forward a little to peer into the dark well, Jaken ran out from behind the bush. Shouting and waving the Staff of Two Heads wildly to startle the young woman, Jaken sent a burst of flames from one of the gruesome heads. His intention was to scare her enough to knock her off balance. Not to burn her. It would not do to leave burn marks on her body. That would only raise suspicion. Then again . . . Jaken could always try to blame the burn marks on another demon's attack.

He heard Kagome scream in surprise. Then her voice suddenly stopped. Letting the flames die away, Jaken surveyed his handiwork. The miko was no longer on the edge of the well, but he had not heard her hit the bottom. Scrambling onto the well's rim to look for her body sprawled and broken at the bottom, he was horror-struck to see no trace of her. How was he going to explain that she had been vaporized?

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End note: I kind of feel bad for breaking poor Jaken's heart, but I hope to find a new object of his obsession. Also, I've got another chapter written and it will be posted as soon as I have it polished up a bit.


	4. Failure to Communicate

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters._

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Kagome rubbed her sore rear as she looked up, staring at the roof of the old well house. Her trip through time had ended with a rougher landing than usual, no thanks to that insane kappa. What was his problem, anyways? Why did Jaken jump out at her like that? He shot flames at her, too! She had half a mind to go back and use that ugly staff as a baseball bat against his little, bald head. What a great way that would be to work out her frustrations. Maybe that was why Sesshoumaru let the little pest follow him. With someone like Jaken as his personal chew toy, it was no wonder Sesshoumaru always seemed so calm and collected.

Sesshoumaru . . . just the thought of him caused a wave of conflicting emotions to wash over Kagome. She was still confused as to why someone like him would want her to be his mate, although she was far from being against the idea. If she were honest with herself, she would admit that she had begun to develop a crush on him shortly after he started traveling with her group. She had even fantasized about him, on occasion. However, she would never have dared to hope that he would reciprocate her feelings. Yet it had been less that an hour ago – an hour in her personal time line, at any rate – that she had been in his arms, kissing him passionately.

She could still remember how it felt to have his hard, muscled body pressed against hers. The simple thought of it had her inner hentai conjuring images of what might have happened, had she not been so resistant, due to her fears that she had become delusional. Her breath quickened, and her body started to heat from the thoughts, alone. Kagome touched her fingers to her neck, imagining that they were Sesshoumaru's lips as she remembered the sensations he created simply by kissing and nipping the sensitive area. If that were any indication of his skills, she would have much to look forward to in the future.

She paused when her fingers brushed against the enchanted beads around her neck and mentally corrected herself. She would have much to look forward to, providing she didn't find a way to strangle that high-handed, over-grown poodle. If he weren't half-way to where ever he was going, by now, she would jump back down the well and try to shoot him in the butt again. The beads would be "protection." Sure. Kagome knew that he was trying to treat her like a piece of property, and she was not going to stand for it.

As Kagome thought over Sesshoumaru's behavior, she felt herself getting more and more angry, and she forced herself to stop thinking about it. She needed to calm down so she could get a proper perspective on the situation. That was why she had come home. With five hundred years separating her from the source of her troubles, she would be able to rationally sort through her problems and decide how to handle them.

The single day that she had to spend in her own era was not much time, but it would have to do. First things first, she would get some much-needed rest. Her brain was exhausted from all of the excitement and was doing nothing but running in circles. She could use a bath, too.

With this new resolve in mind, she climbed up the ladder and trudged across the courtyard toward the kitchen door of her family's home.

Souta stood in front of the refrigerator, searching its contents. At the sound of the kitchen door opening and closing, he turned to see who had entered the house.

"Hey, Kagome," Souta greeted, "we were wondering when you would come back. How's Inuyasha?"

"He's fine," Kagome grumbled, moving to set her bag on the kitchen table.

"That's good. Is Inuyasha planning on coming through the well soon?"

"Not if he knows what's good for him," she answered sourly.

"Okay," he replied hesitantly. He stared at her as if trying to gauge the severity of her bad mood. As a little brother, he did enjoy tormenting his big sister, but a sense of self-preservation had taught him when not to push her too far. Then his gaze landed on Kagome's new fashion accessory. "Hey, what's that around your neck? It kinda looks like Inuyasha's necklace."

"It's nothing," Kagome stated a little too defensively as she slipped the necklace under her shirt and started to walk toward the stairs, "I'm going to take a bath. Don't bother me until dinner."

Souta watched as his grouchy sister marched up the stairs to barricade herself in the bathroom. Her mood had something to do with that necklace, that much he could tell. Briefly, he wondered if Inuyasha were also involved, somehow. He probably was. Most of her bad moods revolved around something that Inuyasha had said or done. Shrugging, he turned back to the refrigerator and resumed his search for an after-school snack.

A few hours later, Kagome skipped down the stairs, feeling much refreshed and rejuvenated. It was amazing the effects a long, hot bath in a real bathtub could have. Normally, Kagome had to make do with a hot spring, if she were lucky enough to find one, or a freezing-cold river, all the time wondering if something was going to leap out and attack her. Feeling unseen things brush against her ankles in the water never did anything for her peace of mind, either.

Her bath today had allowed her to calm down so much that she was even able to sneak in a quick nap in her soft, comfortable, rock-free bed. Now she was ready to look at her problems with a calm, rational mind.

She entered the kitchen and greeted the rest of her family, who were already sitting at the table, preparing their plates.

"There you are," her mother greeted with a warm smile, "Souta said that you were back, but wanted to be alone. What brings you back? Another test?"

"No, no test. I just needed a break from the Feudal Era and everyone."

"See? I told you she had another fight with Inuyasha," Souta commented around a mouth full of noodles.

She cast an irritated glance at her brother. "We didn't have a fight."

"Well, was Inuyasha upset about you leaving?"

"You could say that," Kagome replied, "but he'll get over it. He always does."

"I suppose that's true," her mother agreed.

"So, Kagome, are you planning on going to school tomorrow, or should I make up another excuse?" her grandfather asked.

Kagome looked at the old man, noting the hopeful gleam in his eyes. He enjoyed making excuses for her absences, and it was never enough to say that she had a cold, an ear infection, or something else that a normal girl her age would have that would also not be embarrassing. Kagome opened her mouth, about to reprimand the eldest Higurashi for his excuses that have earned her the reputation of being the most diseased human on Earth, but paused, her gaze becoming unfocused as she imagined countless scenarios involving school and the cursed beads.

Images flashed across her mind's eye; images of her bumping into boys in the crowded school halls and seeing them fly away, slamming into walls and other students. That would be a tough one to explain. What would she say? Could she claim that she had developed a rare condition where she accumulated an unusually high amount of static electricity, capable of discharging in shocks a hundred times worse than most electrostatic shocks? Was there such a thing as a condition like that?

"I don't think I should go to school," she replied, in a weak voice.

Forcing herself to snap back to the current conversation, she continued, "Besides, I'll probably spend all day shopping. You know, bandages, camping stuff, and more ramen for Inuyasha. I'll be leaving tomorrow afternoon."

"Why so soon?" her mother asked.

"Oh, you know, Mom. Gotta find those jewel shards," Kagome spoke with a chipper "it's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it" tone.

Perhaps she had seemed a little too enthusiastic because her mother gave her a scrutinizing look. "Is there something else going on that you are not telling us, dear?"

After a moment's hesitation, Kagome sighed. She was going to have to tell her family about it at some point. Now would be just as good a time as any, but she was worried over how they may react to the news. Keeping her eyes downcast, she pulled the necklace out from under her shirt. "Actually, there is. Now, keep in mind that this is not going to happen immediately, but . . . Mom, Grandpa, Souta, I'm going to be mated."

At her announcement, the entire room fell silent for several moments as everyone processed what she said. Finally Souta asked, "Mated? What do you mean?"

"Is that something like marriage?" her mother inquired.

Kagome looked up at her mother and nodded her head.

"'Mate,'" her grandfather spoke before her mother could say anything further, "that would be a term youkai use. You're not mating a youkai, are you?"

Kagome squirmed at the accusatory tone of her grandfather's voice. "Actually . . . I am."

"Cool!" Souta exclaimed in response to the unspoken affirmation, "Is it Inuyasha?"

"No!" Kagome shrieked, horrified at the idea, "It's his older brother, Sesshoumaru."

"Sesshoumaru? You've mentioned him before." Souta mused as he tried to match the story to the name. "Hey! Isn't he that youkai who . . ." Kagome raised her hand in a silent plea for him to be quiet.

"Yes, he is," she replied as she gave him a hard look, signifying that he should not make any further comments about the dangers that she regularly experienced. Souta knew that Kagome's adventures were far more hazardous than she led her mother and grandfather to believe, and Kagome preferred to let older members of the family remain in blissful ignorance on that subject.

"Mating a youkai!" the aged priest lamented, "Oh, how could this happen? My own granddaughter, mating a youkai!" Then he turned to his daughter. "This is your doing. You allow her to go jumping down that cursed well and cavort with youkai. It was only a matter of time before this happened. You should have locked her in her room and let me use my sacred seals to close the well. Then we would not endure the shame of our prestigious line of mikos and priests being marred with youkai blood."

"Oh, stop it, Father. You know your spells never work. I'm sure Kagome's intended is a perfectly nice bo– er male."

Kagome gave her mother a weak smile. She knew she could count on the older woman to be the level-headed one.

However, the old man continued on in his ranting as if he never heard his daughter. "Oh, where did I go wrong?"

"It's not like I wanted this to happen!" Kagome shouted, tired of listening to her grandfather's babbling. Her outburst caused another moment of silence in the small kitchen.

"What do you mean, Kagome?" her mother asked.

She pointed to the beads around her neck. "These beads are a spell that some demon put on me a few days ago. He wanted me as a mate and said the beads would keep other males away from me."

"Really, what do they do?" Souta asked.

Well, she wasn't going to explain _all_ of the details. "It shocks them when they touch me. It shocks me, too, but the effects aren't as bad."

"That is so cool!" Souta exclaimed in that little brother kind of enthusiasm that springs to life at the opportunity to torture his older sister. He stretched an arm toward his sister, extending his index finger to give her the smallest tap on the shoulder. Nothing happened.

"Aww, it doesn't work."

Kagome let out a weary sigh over her brother's disappointment. "You're my brother. It's not going to work on family members." If it had worked, she would be having a fit right about now.

"See what I mean? You let her go into the youkai-infested past. It was only be a matter of time before something like this happened." The old man had no idea of the real truth behind his words. Things like this had happened to her on a number of occasions. She had lost count of the number of times she had been kidnapped or possessed by a demon. Given her track record with males, she should be surprised that this whole forced mating fiasco hadn't happened before now.

Feeling better that his granddaughter's fate was the result of a curse, rather than her own choice, Kagome's grandfather continued, "If this is just a matter of breaking a spell, you have come to the right place. I'm sure I have something about these kinds of curses." He stood from the table and left the kitchen to search his collection of ancient texts. Neither Kagome or her mother bothered to stop him, preferring to be able to continue the conversation without his unhelpful input.

"He's wasting his time, you know," Kagome remarked, "Kaede wasn't able to do anything, and her spells and wards actually work."

Her mother gave her a sympathetic smile before getting the conversation back on track. "So you must mate the demon that cursed you?"

"No, Inuyasha killed him, which is why I am still wearing this stupid thing. That demon was supposed to be the only one who could remove it."

"How does Inuyasha's brother . . . Sesshoumaru, you say is his name . . . fit in to this?"

"He is the only one able to touch me without making the necklace react."

A look of confusion crossed her mother's face. "Why is he able to do that?"

"It's a loophole. Apparently we are destined to be together."

"Can he remove the beads, as well?"

"He can, but he won't. He's forcing me to wear it until he can get one that will not harm me. Then I'll be forced to wear that one 'for my own protection.'" The last words dripped with sarcasm.

"Well, that's thoughtful, I guess," the older woman commented, a little unsure of how she should react.

"Something like that," Kagome replied distractedly as she swatted away her brother's hand. He had been poking her repeatedly during the conversation in hopes that the enchanted beads would activate. She glared at the boy. "You know, even if it did work, you would get a much worse shock that I would."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Souta sighed in defeat. Then a new idea brought a devious smile to his face. "I wonder if it would work on Buyo."

"Buyo's a cat, not a human," Kagome snapped back without thinking her reply through.

"Youkai aren't human, and it works on them, right?"

Kagome opened her mouth to reply, but was at a loss for words. Taking that as an affirmative, Souta shot up from the table to search out the pudgy feline. Kagome groaned and buried her face in her hands. No way was she going to let Souta perform this sick experiment. If it did work, not only could it fall into the category of animal cruelty, but it would also land squarely in the realm of utter wrongness.

"Kagome?" The miko looked up at the sound of her mother's voice. "Do you love him?"

She sighed, "Yes, maybe, I don't know. According to the curse, I must love him. If not now, then eventually."

Her mother took a deep breath and looked down at her clasped hands resting on the table, "You know, just because he can lift the curse, it does not mean that you must mate him. You do not need to do anything that you are unsure about."

"Oh, I know that, Mama," Kagome replied without hesitation, "And we're not going to be mated right away. Not with everything as it is at the moment."

"But . . . " the older woman prompted.

"It's just that so much has happened so suddenly. I mean, Sesshoumaru hadn't shown any interest in me before, but he's not the most open person in the world, so I guess that can be expected. Now he's being possessive and over-protective to the point that I want to rip out his pretty silver hair, but I can't because he's a super-fast, super-strong youkai, and I wouldn't be fast enough to get a hold of it. I don't know what this is going to mean for my time-traveling or school. And I don't even know what it means to be mated to a youkai, much less a daiyoukai." Kagome paused in her crazed rant to take a breath. As her words played over in her mind, her last statement made her eyes widen.

"Oh my . . . I'm going to be Lady of the Western Lands! I don't know how to be nobility!" Letting out an anguished whimper, she dropped her head onto the table, narrowly missing putting her face in her dinner plate. So much for clearing her head and getting a firm grasp on the situation. Now Kagome was as confused and angry as ever, _and_ she had a headache.

Mrs. Higurashi stared at her daughter's head and smiled at her antics. She could tell that her daughter was more confused than unhappy. If she understood the information she had gleaned from Kagome's rantings, the youkai did seem to care for her a great deal, in his own way. Given that he was Inuyasha's brother, she had no doubt that he was powerful, as well, and would be more than capable of taking care of Kagome. All of this reassured Mrs. Higurashi, which was why she did not oppose the idea of her only daughter traveling into the past to mate a youkai. However, she did hope that she would get to meet this mysterious Sesshoumaru, one day.

Until then, it was clear that her daughter needed some advice on married life and the compromises and communication involved in making relationships last.

"Kagome, it is to be expected that you and Sesshoumaru will have some difficulties in the beginning." Ignoring the snort that came from her daughter's side of the table after this statement, Mrs. Higurashi continued, "Coming from such different backgrounds, you two are going to have different views of how a husband and wife should behave and treat each other. These issues will not be resolved unless you two sit down and discuss them, calmly and rationally."

Kagome was silent for a moment as she processed her mother's words and thought of how best to describe exactly what kind of being she was dealing with. She lifted her head from the table to look at the older woman. "You're right, Mama, but it is not as easy as it sounds. Sesshoumaru is a leader, a ruler. He is not accustomed to listening to others' opinions. Usually that is because others' opinions do not matter to him."

Mrs. Higurashi stood from the table and began to clear away the family's half-eaten meal. "As his mate, your opinion should matter to him."

"He's a Feudal Era lord, Mama. In his mind set, most women are little more than property . . . brood mares . . . arm candy." She spoke the last words distastefully as she propped her elbows on the table and rest her chin in her hands.

Her mother allowed her lips to lift in a small smile at her daughter's use of words. "Well, that is certainly one thing that you two should discuss because you a far from being anything like most women. However, if he is unwilling to listen to you, perhaps you should find a way to _make_ him listen."

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_**Author's Note:**__ I had planned to end this chapter in the Feudal Era with the appearance of Kouga, but the whole Modern Era scene decided to take on a mind of its own and become seven pages long. I'm not extremely happy about how it turned out, but I if I keep nit-picking at it, I'll never move on. Maybe one of these days I'll go back and find out what it is that seemed off._

_I would like to clarify a couple of issues that came up after my last posting. This story started out as a one-shot, a fact that I did not make clear when I first posted it, aside from marking it as "complete." That was a miscommunication on my part. So many people were asking me to continue that I figured no one bothered looking at its progress status, which is why I never bothered to change it. I know I hardly pay any attention to those tags, myself. _

_The fact that this was a one-shot is also why Sesshoumaru seems to come on so strong, so fast by the end of the first chapter. Yes, it goes against my style and preferences to write such a fast relationship, but I am trying to run with what I have started. Not everything is perfectly planned, and I have no idea how far this story will go. For that same reason, updates will be unpredictable._

_That being said, I hope you all enjoyed this latest chapter. Sess and Kag will be reunited within the next couple of chapters, unless my muse decides to go off on some other tangent._


	5. Enter Kouga

_Disclaimer: Yeah, still don't own anything._

Although Kagome stated that she would be gone for just one day, it was turning out to be the longest twenty-four hours Jaken and Inuyasha had ever experienced. Both were anticipating Sesshoumaru's return, although only Inuyasha harbored the hope that Kagome would be back from her time beforehand.

As much as Inuyasha hated to admit it, Sesshoumaru was the more powerful of the brothers, and when they joined their groups, that seemed to automatically place the daiyoukai in the position of alpha. Inuyasha had not bothered to contest the matter too much because so far the shift in leadership had not caused any drastic change in the day-to-day dynamics of group as a whole, and it stood that, in Sesshoumaru's absence, Inuyasha was in charge. The problem was that that also placed the well-fare of all other members of the group on Inuyasha's shoulders.

This was something that Inuyasha was accustomed to. However, now when any members of the group came to harm or got out of control under his watch, Inuyasha was sure to face retribution at Sesshoumaru's hands. He could only expect his punishment to be worse when the situation involved Sesshoumaru's future mate.

Yes, Inuyasha knew the whole alpha male thing was a little ridiculous to the humans, especially to Kagome. He also knew that she detested being viewed as a piece of property to be protected and coveted. However, Kagome was just going to have to learn to live with it, at least for a while. Even she could not be so naïve to think that Sesshoumaru would change his habits and instincts in an instant, and that was depending on the idea that the daiyoukai _felt_ that he needed to make such a change. It was likely that he felt no such need.

So Kagome was out of luck on that. So was Inuyasha as he was sure this would not be the last of her defiance that would somehow involve him. As he waited for the inevitable return of his brother and the ensuing beating he was sure to receive, he spent the rest of the night brooding in Kaede's hut, pacing about outside, and snapping at anyone who so much as breathed in his direction.

Meanwhile, Jaken kept to himself as he wracked his little brain, trying to create a story that put as much distance as possible between him and the miko's death. He knew that he would have to make arrangements to make it look like someone else had killed her. But who should receive the blame?

Dogs and their tricky noses, Sesshoumaru would be able to tell who had been near the well and when, so it would be no good to claim Naraku's involvement. Inuyasha had been around there at some point. Perhaps he could claim the inuhanyou had killed Kagome in a fit of jealous rage. But that would not explain her missing body, unless Inuyasha used the Wind Scar against her. No, that was no good. For that story to work at all, there would have to be evidence of the Wind Scar's use in that same area.

Maybe he would lead Ah-Un to the well and claim that the dragon attacked her. Would Sesshoumaru believe that? Did the daiyoukai have enough faith in his steed's loyalty that he would not believe such a thing? Oh, who was he kidding? The dragon would not betray his master. Oddly, no matter the lone creature that Sesshoumaru was wont to be, he did accumulate the most loyal of companions. Jaken argued with himself that no matter how his actions may be perceived, getting rid of the miko was out of his loyalty to his lord and not a matter of his own petty jealousy. And so he spent the rest of the night and the following morning, thinking of how to get himself out of this mess.

In the early afternoon, a fidgety Inuyasha, unable to contain himself any longer, jumped to his feet and started walking in the direction of the well. He approached the well as if he were about to jump down, but stopped himself. He began pacing in front of the time portal, trying to decide whether or not to go to Kagome's era. It wasn't like he would be able to drag her back, and he doubted that any of Kagome's family would help him. Well, Souta might, but he was too little to be able to physically force his sister to do anything.

It would raise a few eyebrows, also, if anyone saw the young boy trying to hurl his older sister down a dry well. It would look even more odd if they saw a dog-eared boy in out-dated clothing running around the shrine grounds. He knew how Kagome hated when he drew unwanted attention to himself in her era, and he wasn't going to risk getting "sat" to the center of the earth, a threat that Kagome made on a regular basis.

As he paced, trying to figure out what to do, he picked up a familiar scent on the wind. Oh, this was all he needed now. He looked in the direction from which the scent came and saw the familiar cyclone headed his way. That mangy wolf was such a show-off. What was he doing here?

The fast-moving cyclone continued to move in his direction. Once it cleared the tree line and was not more than twenty feet away, it dissipated, revealing none other than Kouga, leader of the southern wolf tribes, self-proclaimed intended of Kagome, and all-around nuisance to anyone who comes in contact with him. As if Inuyasha did not have enough to worry about in regards to Sesshoumaru's temper, now he had to deal with the mangy wolf spouting his "my woman" garbage. Although, beating Kouga to a pulp when Kagome wasn't around to stop him _would_ be a great way to release the stress of the whole situation.

"Where's my woman, Mutt Face?" Not there even two seconds and he has started in on it. Just great. Maybe he would be lucky and Sesshoumaru would return, and the two youkai could tear each other to pieces over the miko. That would be nice, too. Inuyasha would get to sit back and watch the fun. It would be even better if he had a snack. What was that stuff that he and Kagome ate that one time? Popcorn? Yeah, that would be good.

"Yo, Mutt Face, what's wrong with you?" Kouga had moved to stand directly in front of Inuyasha and was waving his hand in front of the hanyou's vacant eyes in an attempt to get his attention.

Inuyasha came back from his trip to La-La Land, and his eyes focused on the wolf's hand. "I'm fine. Get your stinkin' hand out of my face. In fact, just go away."

Kouga stepped back from the hanyou, satisfied that he was acting normal. "Not until I see my woman. I've got to make sure you're taking good care of her."

"Well, she ain't here," then he added smugly, "And she ain't your woman, either."

Kouga snorted. "Of course she's my woman. Always has been. Always will be."

"Yeah, keep tellin' yourself that."

The wolf moved and, in the blink of an eye, was nose to nose with Inuyasha, giving him his most threatening glare. "You tryin' to tell me something, Dog Breath? If you've done something to her behind my back . . ."

"Stuff it, moron. I haven't done a thing to her. But you should be worried about the one who has claimed her." Inuyasha smiled as his mind formed the image of Sesshoumaru melting Kouga's face with his poison claws. It would be so much fun to watch. Really, he shouldn't even be involved in this dispute. This was a battle between two males for a potential mate.

Kouga took a step back and gave Inuyasha another calculating glare as if he were trying to read a lie in the hanyou's eyes. "No one's foolish enough to try to lay claim on _my _woman."

Kouga's arrogance faded somewhat as Inuyasha shook his head mutely. Kouga didn't like this. The hanyou was serious about him having a rival for Kagome's affections. Keeping a confident tone while trying to act as if it was a mere inconvenience that someone else was trying to encroach on his territory, he asked, "Then who, exactly, should I be worried about?"

"Me," a deep, dangerous voice replied from behind him.

Kouga's eyes widened slightly as he felt the aura of a powerful youkai prick at his own. Slowly, he turned to look at the new arrival. Once he recognized the demon, he let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. It was just Sesshoumaru. Nothing to worry about, as far as Kagome was concerned. But why was he here and looking so pissed?

"Lord Sesshoumaru," he spoke in his most respectful manner, his instincts telling him to proceed with caution, "What brings you here?"

"Kiss Ass," Inuyasha mumbled.

Simultaneous "Shut it, mutt" and "Silence, whelp" came from the two youkai staring at each other.

"Oh, fine!" Inuyasha stuffed his arms in his sleeves and marched to the Goshinboku, intending to sit and watch the show. He wasn't going to be so lucky.

"Where is the miko, Inuyasha?" Sesshoumaru wanted to be ensured of his intended's safety before he deigned to speak to the wolf.

Inuyasha gulped, hoping that Kouga would do something soon to distract the daiyoukai. "She went home after you left. Said she'd be back today, but I don't know when."

"You allowed her to leave?" The tone of Sesshoumaru's voice promised a painful punishment for the hanyou's negligence.

"It's not like I could stop her, now, could I? Didn't really think that part through, did ya?" The moment the words slipped through his mouth, Inuyasha regretted it. The only thing that prevented Sesshoumaru from rewarding Inuyasha's insolence with a mouth full of broken teeth was the wolf's interruption.

"What business is it of yours where my woman is?" Kouga asked, moving himself in an offensive stance.

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at the ookami. He was not happy to have returned from his errand to find that not only was his future mate gone, but there was some fool trying to claim her, as well. "She is not your woman."

The vehemence in Sesshoumaru's voice had Kouga struggling to reply with any sort of confidence. "Yes, she is. I claimed her long ago. We've only been waiting until after I've defeated Naraku."

A wave of youki hit him as Sesshoumaru's anger increased and his eyes began to bleed red. "You will not live long enough to see Naraku's defeat." The tone in the daiyoukai's voice made it clear that his statement was a promise, not a threat.

Inuyasha sat at the base of the Goshinboku, leaning forward as if he were watching a horror film and waiting for that moment when the monster jumps out and slashes the unlucky super model, who is limping because she tripped in her four-inch heels, to bits. It was all so thrilling, he didn't even notice when Sango, Miroku, and Jaken appeared at the other side of the clearing.

The massive amounts of youki had put the monk and slayer on high alert, and they immediately set out to find the source, fearing the harm it may cause to any innocent bystanders. Jaken noticed that they were headed in the direction of the well and followed, hoping that whatever was about to happen would give him a good story to explain the disappearance of the miko. His hopes were dashed to pieces the moment he entered the clearing and saw his master locked in a staring contest with a wolf youkai.

Lord Sesshoumaru was already angry, and he had yet to learn about the miko's demise. A little voice in the back of Jaken's mind told him that he should be running as fast as his short legs could carry him, but his fear held him rooted to the spot. What would have been the point of running, anyways? Lord Sesshoumaru would find out what happened and hunt him down. Not even traveling to the continent and using extensive concealment spells would be able to protect him from the daiyoukai's wrath.

As Sesshoumaru and Kouga continued their staring contest, Jaken began making his peace with the kami in preparation for what would likely be a slow, painful death. Then the most inexplicable event happened. A burst of blue light came out of the well as a wave of ancient magic brushed against the senses of all present.

Kagome's scent pulled Sesshoumaru out of the trance he and Kouga had been sharing. Moving faster than anyone's eyes could follow, he leaped into the well.

"Wh- Sesshoumaru? What are you doing down here?" Kagome's voice traveled from the depths of the well. "Hey! Put me down! I can get out of the well myself!"

"Kagome?" Kouga asked, turning to face the well, just as Sesshoumaru leaped back out, carrying the miko in his arms.

Jaken looked on, terrified of what he was seeing. The miko had come back! He pointed a shaky, webbed hand at Kagome as Sesshoumaru set her on her feet.

"But you're dead!" he screeched, "You fell down that well!" Surely the fall could have killed her, even if he hadn't vaporized her with the Staff of Two Heads. Was this to be his reward for trying to save his master, being haunted by the ghost of the loud-mouthed one that would have ruined the daiyoukai?

All eyes looked at the kappa as he gave one last, incoherent screech before falling backward in a dead faint.

"What do you suppose is wrong with him?" Miroku asked, inching closer to the unconscious youkai to nudge him with his staff. Poking things with a stick always served as a good way of determining whether or not they were alive. The kappa twitched a little. He was alive. That was good enough. Now back to the main show.

Kouga, after staring quizzically at the little green guy, returned his attention to Kagome, who was standing too close to Sesshoumaru for comfort.

"Kouga, what are you doing here?" the miko asked, stepping away from the daiyoukai.

"Just checking on my woman," the wolf replied in his most cocky tone before dashing to the miko to take her hands, as was his habit.

This time it proved to be an unhealthy habit. The moment his hands made contact with hers, Kouga was sent across the clearing, slamming head-first into a large tree like a wolf-shaped battering ram. His rigid body remained parallel with the ground for a split second before going limp and sliding down the tree trunk to settle on the ground. To add insult to injury, a large tree branch, knocked loose from the impact, rattled down from the uppermost branches of the tree to land on top of the wolf's head.

"Yes!" Inuyasha shouted as he jumped to his feet and punched a fist into the air, "Miroku, I think he just beat both of our records for distance! Hey, Kagome, you got any popcorn in that bag?"

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_Author's Note: Not one of my funniest, but I felt this was a good place to stop. The next chapter should make up for the lack of laughs in this one.  
Merry belated Christmas and Happy New Year's._


	6. Foot in Mouth Disease

_**Disclaimer: **__Nope, I don't own it._

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"Kouga! Are you okay?" Kagome gasped as she recovered from the effects of the necklace. She tried to run to the prone wolf's side, but a strong arm around her waist stopped her.

"He is not your concern," Sesshoumaru stated.

"What? Of courses he is. He's my friend," she argued, trying to squirm out of the daiyoukai's grip.

"Are you not aware that he has intentions to claim you?"

Kagome stilled in her struggles and gave Sesshoumaru an blank look, wondering why he would ask a question that had such an obvious answer. "Well, yeah, I'm aware. Subtlety is not one of his strengths."

"Have you ever suggested that you would accept him as a mate?"

"No, but he's not very good at listening to refusals, either."

"Then do not approach him. Your position is by my side, not in aiding my rival."

"What?" Kagome screeched and renewed her struggle. "Just because he says I'm his woman doesn't make it true. He's an idiot, yes, but also a friend and ally . . . and he needs help."

"Miko, what do you hope to accomplish? You are the reason he flew into that tree."

"That wouldn't have happened if you had taken off this necklace!"

"If I had done that, his filthy scent would be all over you by now, instead of on your hands alone.

While the young couple argued, Inuyasha walked over to Kouga and kicked the wolf prince in the side. Kouga groaned in response, rolling away from Inuyasha's foot.

"Relax, Kagome. He's fine. He hit his head, is all. Probably caused more damage to the tree than the tree did to him," Inuyasha commented as he walked to join the other spectators of the little drama.

Kouga groaned again before opening his eyes and forcing himself into a sitting position. Lifting one hand to his aching head, he asked, "What just happened?"

His gaze landed on the daiyoukai holding a struggling Kagome. Without bothering to find out the details of the situation, he leaped to his feet, hesitating for a moment to let his head stop spinning, and charged the daiyoukai.

"Let my woman go!" he shouted as he pulled back a fist in preparation to strike.

Sesshoumaru pushed Kagome behind him in order to shield her while lashing out at the wolf with his dokatsu whip. Kouga leaped back just in time to avoid the attack.

"As I have stated once, Wolf, she is not your woman. If you wish to challenge me for her, it will be your funeral."

Kouga stared at Sesshoumaru for a few moments, hoping to make sense of the situation. Surely the human-hating daiyoukai did not just lay claim to Kagome. Even if he did . . .

"Me challenge you? I claimed her first! You should challenge me!"

"I met her first," was his cool reply.

"More like tried to kill me first," Kagome mumbled, more to herself that anyone else, "You know I have a mind of my own. Kami forbid you should ask me what I want instead of going through some kind of pissing contest."

"No worries, Kagome, I'll get rid of this wussy dog, and everything will be fine," Kouga stated.

"Idiot," Inuyasha mumbled. Sango and Miroku nodded in agreement.

"No, Kouga." Kagome tried to reason with the fool, but it was not easy to carry on a conversation with a youkai wall in front of her. "Sesshoumaru, would you let me by? He's not going to hurt me, and you know it."

With an irritated growl, Sesshoumaru allowed her to move in front of him but put a possessive arm around her waist, much to Kouga's annoyance.

"Look, Kouga, you and I were never going to happen. You know that. You can't go around claiming people as your property."

"Yes I can."

"Well, you can't claim me!" she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest, "I never liked you like that."

Kouga stared at the miko, confusion marring his features. How could she say something like that? They were perfect for each other . . . she was beautiful and could sense jewel shards; he was handsome and was a great leader. Did she doubt his ability to protect her from other males? Did she think that he could not prove himself against the daiyoukai?

That was it. She had no faith in his strength. Well, he would change that. Once he defeated Sesshoumaru, Kagome would realize how much better a protector and provider he would be, and she would melt into his arms.

A cocky grin spread across his face. "Kagome, do you have so little faith in me? This dog will be no trouble, and I'll prove it as soon as he stops hiding behind you."

The low growl that ripped through the clearing reached Kouga's ears just as Sesshoumaru's fist connected with his face. Sesshoumaru heard a satisfying crack of bone and smiled his most terrifying and deadly smile.

"Perhaps a broken jaw will teach you to think before speaking."

A derisive snort from the sidelines revealed Inuyasha's opinion on that matter. Inuyasha looked over to Kagome, who was now standing by herself. Her bag and bow were on the ground several feet behind her, where she had dropped them in her attempt to aid Kouga. Not wanting to draw more attention to himself than necessary, he made a dash for the bag and brought it back to his spot next to Miroku and Sango.

Normally, he wouldn't go through Kagome's bag, as past experiences had taught him how much she hated that invasion of her privacy. But he really wanted to enjoy a snack for this fight, and there was no telling if he would be able to eat again once Sesshoumaru got a hold of him. So he was going to get all of his futuristic food while he could. Besides after all of this nonsense with Sesshoumaru, he figured Kagome owed him this one-time right to dig through her bag.

He was also counting on the idea that Kagome had stored some of the more fragile snacks at the top of her bag, preventing them from being crushed, so he might be able to find something to eat without leaving too much evidence of his snooping. Clearly, the kami were in favor of his plan because the first thing he found after opening the pack was a bag of potato chips. It wasn't popcorn, but it would be just as good. Snack in hand, Inuyasha returned his attention to the fight.

Kouga opened his mouth and moved his jaw from side to side, wincing from the sting of pain that accompanied the movement. He could feel the left side of his face swelling, but it wasn't anything that he couldn't handle. He looked at the irritated inuyoukai, sizing him up. The dog would be tougher than he might have admitted at the beginning, but he wasn't going to lose Kagome without a fight. There was no way she would be happy with that pompous fur ball.

"All right, I'll take that as a challenge," he spoke with some difficulty and fought to ignore the pain in his jaw. "Good luck trying to catch me off guard again. You may be fast, but I am faster."

As if to prove his point, Kouga disappeared from human sight, moving too fast for their eyes to track. Even Inuyasha had difficulty following his movements. The wolf appeared in front of Sesshoumaru, prepared to strike, but the daiyoukai dodged in time to throw Kouga off balance.

Kouga recovered in time to jump away from Sesshoumaru's dokatsu whip, gaining more distance between himself and his opponent. "Too prissy to attack with your own claws, you have to use a whip?"

"I'd rather not sully my hands with your blood. The stench will remain for days, no matter how many times I wash."

"Prissy? Hah. You gotta give that mangy wolf credit for having the guts to call Sesshoumaru 'prissy,'" Inuyasha remarked as he stuffed a chip into his mouth and handed the bag to Miroku. "Of course, Sesshoumaru will be squeezing those guts between his fingers soon enough," he added as an afterthought.

"Such confidence in your brother's abilities," Miroku commented as he took a handful of chips from the proffered bag. "Do I sense some familial loyalty in your supporting Sesshoumaru's side?"

"Half-brother," Inuyasha corrected, "And don't get ahead of yourself. I just want to see the wolf get his ass kicked, and I know from experience what to expect from Sesshoumaru."

"Put his hand through your own gut often, has he?" Sango asked as she grabbed a handful of chips.

"I stopped counting after twenty."

"Kouga!" A voice coming from behind caught the trio's attention.

They turned in the direction of the voice as they heard another complaining, "He's too fast. We're always playing catch-up with him."

From the woods emerged Kouga's two side-kicks, Ginta and Hakaku, out of breath and nearly stumbling as they came to a sudden stop to stare at the site before them.

"What's going on here?" Ginta asked in alarm as he watched Kouga barely dodge another of Sesshoumaru's attacks. He moved forward, planning to help his leader, but Inuyasha's hand on his shoulder held him in place.

"You don't want to get in the middle of that," the hanyou stated, "It's not your place, anyways."

"Why are they fighting?" Hakaku asked.

"Kouga challenged Sesshoumaru for Kagome, or Sesshoumaru challenged Kouga. I'm not sure which it is, really," Sango answered and looked to Miroku for clarification. The monk merely shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, signifying that he was just as clueless about the actual order of events.

"Point is, there's nothing for you two to do about it," Inuyasha added.

"But Kagome's our sister, too. We can't just stand by and do nothing while another male tries to take her from our pack." Ginta argued as he brushed Inuyasha's hand aside, intending to intervene in the fight.

He paused as he watched Kouga fly through the air, left leg preceding the rest of his body, in an attempt to aim a powerful kick to Sesshoumaru's head. When Kouga's foot was mere inches from the daiyoukai's face, Sesshoumaru caught the wolf's ankle. Using Kouga's momentum, he turned his body slightly to the side and used an over-hand swing to slam the flailing wolf face-first into the ground. The loud thud that accompanied the impact had all of the spectators wincing in sympathy, despite the fact that Kouga managed to recover with nothing more than a broken nose.

"On second thought, maybe we should just stay here. It really isn't our fight, after all," Ginta stated.

"But it does seem like we should do _something_," Hakaku replied, although he made no move to help Kouga, either. He knew their leader would not appreciate their interference.

Inuyasha shrugged off their moral dilemma and held the bag of chips out to two tag-alongs. "Want a chip?"

Confused at the hanyou's lackadaisical attitude, Ginta and Hakaku just stared at him. Then the sound of Kagome's voice pulled their attention back to the fight.

"Would you two stop already?" Kagome, being too focused on the battling males to have had any interest in the other spectators' comments, was quickly losing patience with the display of egos.

"Don't worry, Kagome. Everything will be fine after I rid you of this mutt." As a result of his broken nose, Kouga's voice now had a nasal quality to it, but his arrogance remained intact.

Sesshoumaru dashed at Kouga. "Do not mistake me for my half-breed brother. I am a full-blooded inuyoukai."

The battling youkai were lost to sight as they moved in lightning-speed attacks. Suddenly, all motion stopped when Kouga stumbled and fell backward onto the ground. Four deep, bloody gashes on his right leg appeared to be the cause of his fall.

As quickly as he hit the ground he was back on his feet, but Sesshoumaru was already in front of him, ready to make another attack. Both youkai jumped backward as an arrow engulfed in pink spiritual power streaked between them.

"I've had enough of this idiocy!" Kagome marched up to the two youkai. She had a look in her eye that had Kouga feeling wary, and for once, he wisely kept his mouth shut.

"Miko, you will not interfere." Sesshoumaru's voice rang with an authoritative tone, and he expected the young woman to heed his command. Kagome, however, rarely did anything that was expected of her. Instead of obeying her alpha, she glared at him for a brief moment before turning her attention to the idiot wolf.

Holding another arrow, sparkling pink with holy power, Kagome waved it at the wolf as if she were about to smack him on the head with it. Kouga reacted with the proper amount of caution.

"Now, Kagome . . ." he started as the arrowhead came dangerously close to the tip of his nose.

"No, Kouga, you listen to me and see if you can get this through your thick skull. I am not your woman. I never was. Otherwise this," she motioned to the cursed beads, "would not have blasted you into a tree!"

Kouga took a look at the beads that had, until this point, escaped his notice. "What the hell are those?"

"It's a long story," Kagome replied, "But it means that I am definitely not going to mate you. Ever. Sesshoumaru is going to be my mate."

The moment the words came out of her mouth, she wanted to retract them. Even if she wasn't looking at him, Kagome could imagine the smug expression on the daiyoukai's face. As if he needed any more boosts to his ego, her open declaration to one of his "rivals" was going to make him unbearable. Well, she would deal with that later. First, she needed to get Kouga to stop with his claims and accept the fact that further pursuit of her would likely end in his death.

Kouga glanced between the miko and daiyoukai, trying to understand the odd match. "Look, Kagome, if he's forcing you to be his mate . . ."

"I have no need to force a female to anything when she is already willing."

Kouga's eyes widened slightly at that declaration. "Kagome, is that true? You actually _want_ to mate him?"

Kagome opened her mouth to speak, but paused as another snarl ripped through the clearing. Once the sound died down, she replied with some resignation, "Yes, I want to mate him, he wants to mate me. That's how it will be."

She really hated doing this to him, but countless attempts at letting him down easy had never worked.

Kouga was silent for a moment as he thought over his best option. It seemed Kagome was definitely off limits. That was a shame. He was pretty sure his heart was broken now. Still, he couldn't grasp how it had happened. Sesshoumaru had a reputation for being a human hater. More than that, he was known for his complete lack of interest in the opposite sex.

How had Kagome managed to get his attention? Kouga knew that she was a prize for any male, but for all of her charms, it must have been difficult for her to catch the daiyoukai's eye. He just had to know how it happened.

Kouga sighed, "Fine, if that's the way you want it. But, Kagome, can I ask you something?"

Kagome, a little perplexed at the request, nodded, and Kouga warily moved a little closer to her.

"What did you _do_ to get him to want to mate you?"

Perhaps he worded the question the wrong way because the next thing he knew, Kagome's face had turned beet red. That was just before he felt a strong hand wrap around his throat, and he lost sight of her completely.

Kagome, so stunned from the question, stood staring at, yet not actually seeing, the fool in front of her. Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times before her brain decided to let words come out.

"How could you ask me something like that? What kind of girl do you take me for? Sit, sit, sit, sit, sit!" She stopped to take a breath, not fully realizing what she had done until she heard a plaintive voice.

"K-Kagome, what did you do that for?"

Kagome looked toward the sound of the voice, her eyes widening in horror. "Inuyasha!"

She ran over to the hanyou crater, falling to her knees as she skidded to a stop at the edge.

"I'm so sorry, Inuyasha!" she shouted as she peered over the edge of the hole, "It was just a reflex . . . a force of habit!"

A weak whimper was her response, and Kagome was about to further press her concern for Inuyasha's well-being when Miroku caught her attention.

"I'm sure he will be fine, Kagome, but Kouga might not." He motioned to the wolf, whose face was turning an alarming shade of blue as he clawed helplessly at Sesshoumaru's hand.

"Kouga!" Kagome got to her feet and ran to the daiyoukai. "Sesshoumaru, let him go, please!"

Sesshoumaru cast the miko a sideways glance. "This fool insulted your honor. Do you expect me to allow him to live for such a slight?"

"Yes!"

The unexpected answer and the miko's exasperated tone, as if she thought his question were ridiculous, caught Sesshoumaru by surprise. He loosened his grip to let the wolf fall to the ground and turned his attention to the young woman. Out of the corner of his eye, Sesshoumaru could see the wolf sprawled on the ground, choking and gasping for breath.

As Kouga struggled to sit up and, hopefully, get to his hands and knees so he might crawl away with whatever was left of his dignity, Sesshoumaru put a restraining foot on his tail. Well who needed dignity, anyways?

"Miko, this wolf has insulted you, the future Lady of the West. It is my duty as your mate to defend your honor."

Kagome sighed, knowing the truth behind Sesshoumaru's words, and knowing that he was defending his own honor as well as hers. Really, how would it look if Sesshoumaru allowed everyone to make uncouth remarks about his mate without doing anything to defend her?

But at the same time, Kagome had never pegged Sesshoumaru as a being who cared what others thought about him or the choices he made, in regards to his personal life. If he did, there was no chance that he would consider mating her at all. Besides, what did he care what a fool like Kouga thought? Anyone that met the wolf knew he was a cocky idiot who shot his mouth off at any given chance. Who would actually pay him any notice?

"Ka-kagome," Kouga managed to rasp out, "I – I didn't mean it like that."

Turning the full force of her glare on the wolf, she asked, "Oh, really? How did you mean it?"

Kouga opened his mouth to reply, but no thoughts came to mind of what he should say. What could he say that wouldn't sound just as insulting? Nothing. Letting his chin drop to his chest, he mumbled, "Never mind."

Kagome rolled her eyes and shook her head at Kouga's response before turning her attention back to Sesshoumaru to plead for the wolf's life. "Okay, we've established that Kouga is an idiot and doesn't put too much thought into what he says, but he is still a friend and ally."

"An expendable ally," the daiyoukai corrected.

"Oh, come on, Sesshoumaru. You can't go around killing everyone who insults me."

"Yes I can." It went unsaid that Sesshoumaru had killed for lesser insults.

"If you keep up that attitude, one of these days you'll run out of people to kill. Then what are you going to do with your time?" Maybe Kagome was exaggerating a bit, but she was trying to make a point.

Her attempts were lost on Sesshoumaru as he replied, "I'm sure I will find something to do." To everyone else, his face and voice remained void of emotion as he spoke, but from Kagome's perspective, his eyes had that same gleam to them as they did just the previous day, when he had her perched on the well with her legs wrapped around his waist.

Feeling the heat rising to her face, Kagome decided to try another approach before her mind took the chance to take a detour through the gutter. "You've already bested him in battle and punished him for his remark. Surely he has learned his lesson. Right, Kouga?"

Both Sesshoumaru and Kagome turned their attention to the wolf. Kouga, having decided that keeping his mouth shut was the best option at the moment, settled with nodding his head and keeping his gaze on the ground.

Kagome motioned to him as she turned her attention back to Sesshoumaru. "See? I'm sure he won't do it again. Let him go and if he does do it again . . . then you can kill him." She wasn't going to be foolish enough to think that she would always be able to protect him. There are only so many times Kouga would be able to tempt fate.

Sesshoumaru remained silent for several moments, thinking over his options. He could kill the wolf now. Few things would give him more pleasure at the moment, especially given the fact that he was not happy with the miko's need to protect the fool. Still, he could tell that her need to keep him alive was due to her compassionate nature, rather than any romantic feelings for the wolf. For that, he could be merciful . . . just this one time.

He looked back at the wolf. "I shall let you live this time, but cause any further trouble or speak out of turn again, and I will kill you. Perhaps resurrect you and kill you again."

To punctuate his warning, Sesshoumaru ground his boot into Kouga's tail, making the wolf wince, before releasing him. Kouga struggled to his feet in order to turn tail and run, in a manner of speaking, while Ginta and Hakaku appeared at his side. Their presence served as a silent support for their defeated leader, but they made sure to allow him the dignity to get himself off the ground and walk away from the scene, rather than being carried away by his underlings.

As the trio left, Sesshoumaru turned to Kagome. "We have much to discuss about your behavior," he stated, "You will come with me."

Not liking the ominous tone of his voice, Kagome decided that she would much prefer not to be alone with the daiyoukai at the moment. Besides, hadn't she dealt with enough drama for today? And she had only been back in this era for, what, half an hour?

"I- I should really check to make sure Inuyasha is okay. He must be about three feet into the ground," she stated nervously, backing away from Sesshoumaru.

Of course, she did not get far. After experiencing a sudden attack of vertigo and getting a mouthful of fur, Kagome realized that Sesshoumaru had just slung her over his shoulder. It was a good thing that she had finally decided to wear a pair of jeans and a teeshirt for this latest trip to the past. Otherwise, she would have been flashing everyone else in the clearing.

"The half-breed will heal," he remarked as he began to walk in the direction of a nearby river, "And there is little you could do to help him."

Kagome paid little notice to his comment, as she was more distressed by her current predicament. "Put me down, Sesshoumaru!"

Sesshoumaru ignored her pleas. As he passed by his unconscious retainer, he barely paused in order to punt the little kappa into Inuyasha's pit.

Ignoring Inuyasha's indignant shout from having a diminutive youkai fall on his head, Sesshoumaru stated, "Do make sure that Jaken is taken back to the village."

He had no desire for his retainer to be eaten by other youkai while lying unconscious in the forest. For one, he would not be able to learn the reasons behind Jaken's earlier odd behavior. For another, it would be such a hassle to find a decent replacement.

With this last order hanging in the air, Sesshoumaru disappeared from the clearing. After watching him leave, Miroku and Sango turned their attention back to the pit from which Inuyasha had yet to emerge. Surely the subjugation beads had worn off by now.

"Are you planning on coming out of there, Inuyasha?" Miroku ventured.

A wistful sigh, followed by the sound of a crinkling plastic bag, was his only reply. Sango and Miroku looked at each other in concern. Perhaps Inuyasha had been injured. Kagome had been very upset.

"Inuyasha, are you alright?" Sango asked.

"I'm in a hole, I think my back has been thrown out again, I have an imp on my head," he heaved another sigh as more sounds of crinkled plastic emerged from the pit, "And I've crushed my potato chips."

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_**Author's Note: **__Obviously, part of this chapter was inspired by the episode where Kouga first claimed Kagome, and she sat Inuyasha for asking her why Kouga decided that he wanted to mate her. Hopefully I spelled Hakaku's name correctly._

_Anyways, thank you all for the reviews and reassurance that my sense of humor is not dead – after the holidays, I was pretty sure it was lying in a ditch somewhere, twitching like a dying bug. Also, thank you to whoever nominated this story for Best Humor/Parody in the 4__th__ Quarter Dokuga Awards. I am thrilled that it was nominated, even if it didn't win. The stories that did win are hilarious, and it was awesome just to have one of my stories up there with them._

_So, I hope you enjoyed this latest bit. Until next time._


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